Blue crabs are big business along the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months. They’re a Virginia tradition — steamed, deviled, or battered up and fried, blue crabs are in high demand for miles around. But this year, they’re in short supply.

Watermen, like Ray Wicker who owns Wicker’s Crab Pot Seafood in Chesapeake, say they aren’t seeing the bounty of blue crabs that they’re used to.

“We specialize in blue crabs and soft shell crabs,” Wicker said. “We normally have a good run of female crabs that we catch over in Ocean View and in the Willoughby area. This year the water temperature was cold and we lost a month of crabbing.”

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Submit your working waterfront proposal

The National Working Waterfront Network is now accepting abstracts and session proposals for the next National Working Waterfronts & Waterways Symposium, taking place Nov. 16-19 in Tampa, Fla. The deadline is Tax Day, April 15.

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